A Scotia firefighter kneels near the body of Alma Melbourne after her body was recovered from the Mohawk River near the Rexford Bridge in Scotia on Friday, Nov. 25, 2010. (SKIP DICKSTEIN / TIMES UNION)

A Scotia firefighter kneels near the body of Alma Melbourne after her body was recovered from the Mohawk River near the Rexford Bridge in Scotia on Friday, Nov. 25, 2010. (SKIP DICKSTEIN / TIMES UNION)

Photo: Skip Dickstein

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Body found in river

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SCOTIA -- The body of Alma Melbourne, a village woman who had been missing since Tuesday, was found Thanksgiving Day in the Mohawk River.

A Rexford resident noticed a blue object on a shoal in the Mohawk River just west of the Rexford Bridge on Thursday morning, Scotia Police Sgt. Tim Macfarlane said.

Police and other emergency personnel had resumed their search Thursday for the 65-year-old Melbourne, and diverted a State Police helicopter to investigate the sighting. Another area resident, Larry Andrews of Alplaus, said the helicopter hovered in the area while a boat from the Alplaus Fire Department recovered the body from the river around 11 a.m.

"They pulled up to the little island, got off with the stretcher," Andrews, 54, said. "They came back with her body, covered in a sheet."

She was pronounced dead at the scene, and Macfarlane said Melbourne's husband confirmed her identity at a nearby marina.

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Police on Wednesday searched the area around Collins Park in Scotia, using canines and a helicopter.

Melbourne was last seen on a surveillance camera in the park at 3:34 p.m. Tuesday, walking along a bike path. She had a history of walking away and may have recently become depressed, authorities said.

An autopsy will be scheduled at Ellis Hospital to determine Melbourne's cause of death.